Learning things...

 We got Ollie, our dog, almost a year ago.  In March we took him to Las Vegas with us in the trailer just for a couple of days.  In fact, the govenor declared a shut-down during the three days we were there!  So, he hasn't been in the trailer much; hell, neither have we!  So we decided we wanted to take him on a trailer trip just to see how he would act.  

My wife found a park she liked in Morro Bay, CA and called to ask about a reservation.  She was told that making a reservation a year in advance would be normal.  Well, that isn't our style for sure!  So we decided we'd just go over to the Las Vegas RV Resort, our go-to place in Sin City, and spend a few days.  It is a nice park and we had some nice sunsets.

 

 Hmmm.  Well, we did learn one thing.  When we are gone the dog howls!

We went out to breakfast at Blueberry Hill, our go-to breakfast restaurant, and about 3/4ths of the way through our meal my wife's phone rang.  Yep, someone had complained to the management that our dog was howling.  I can't blame them.  The park is an adult-only place and all those old folks seem to have dogs.  Actually the dog area is GREAT.  There are four separate fenced areas and one that is unfenced plus another unfenced area on the far side of the park.  It is really unusual to have so many places for the 4 legged ones.  

The park is basically paved with little graveled areas for the trees.  This was our site.

It was kind of funny.  It was a triangle with roads on all three sides.  There was noise from rigs going to and fro but the view out our windows was clear of other rigs.  We were at least 50 feet from any other rig and that is unusual!  Anyway, we really liked it. 

So, our dreams of wandering around and seeing some sights in Las Vegas were cancelled:  we'd be either at home with the dog or taking him with us.  So, we drove around Vegas seeing some new things & some old with the dog.  Hmm, a new definition of life in the fast lane!  Anyway, we ended up driving 145 miles around in the town.  We did stop a couple times and leave him alone in the truck & he seemed ok with that.  I'm not sure why but maybe it is just someplace he is more comfortable.  Or, there isn't anyone to complain about a howling dog in a store parking lot.  

Then, just to make our visit more memorable, there was a spike in corona virus cases and the govenor asked that everyone stay home as much as possible for the next couple of weeks.  Is there a curse about us visiting Las Vegas?  We did manage another breakfast out but mostly stayed in the rig and Saturday we came home.  

Since then my wife, who has had some minor lung issues, has stayed home while I do the shopping, etc.  The local VFW has a food bank that we like to contribute to so yesterday I went out and bought a few turkeys & stuff for them to distribute.  I even managed a couple of hams for those who can't manage a turkey.  We ordinarily get there when the distribution is almost over so we don't see many people; yesterday there were easily 7 or 8 times as many people there as I've ever seen.  I guess there are more people in need that I'd been thinking.  

So that's what is going on around here.  Staying home and washing hands a lot; now that is exciting!  Take care!

We are breathing again....

 It looks like Mr. Biden will be our President for the next four years and my wife and I are slowly relaxing.  The vote count was a lot closer than we would have liked but, hopefully, most of the drama is over.  I'm certainly hoping for four years of relative normal behavior from our newly elected leader.  He seems like a much more normal person than the idiot we've had for the last four!  (Big sigh of relief!)

So otherwise, in one week our high temps have gone from the 90's to the 60's (30 to 15C).  We did have a drop of rain, the first since April.  Now we even have snow on Mt. Charleston; it's been bare rock all summer.  The cooler weather also means we are using the oven so we had a baked pork tenderloin for dinner last night rather than one cooked on the barbecue.  My wife found a recipe for baking those tiny potatoes (1 inch diameter) after soaking in an egg white & herb mix that was really quite nice as an addition to the tenderloin.  It was a lovely dinner.  

One of the amazing things about where we live is that we are in a valley with mountains on the east side and the west.  Ok, sounds fairly ordinary, right?  But it isn't!  Everyone knows that the Tropic of Cancer is the northermost area on earth where the sun can be directly overhead and the Tropic of Capricorn is the southernmost area.  Well, that is great in a book but HERE we can count the change by mountain tops.  I've been looking through my photos and I just haven't got  the right photos but you look at the sunrise and at one point it is way north of Mt. Charleston and then it is way south of the mountain.  It is AMAZING!  Of course the same is true of the sunset but the same idiot is unable to get those photos either!

Our son gave us an Echo 5 Show last year for Christmas.  Well, I guess I'm a sucker for those things because I bought a 10 for the kitchen and another 5 for the bedroom.  It isn't that I use them much but they are interesting.  The 10 was mostly so that we could talk with him and his wife more easily.  The larger screen just makes it easier.  The 5 in the bedroom is basically a glorified alarm clock.  Once in a while we use it to play soft music but so far that's about it.  Isn't that all about life in the fast lane?

 Today, as usual, we'll go out to lunch then come home to a quiet dinner.  What the hell.  Best wishes to you all!  Keep washing those hands!

Oops!

 There are a couple things I forgot to mention.  First of all, we were taking our walk the other day and saw this poor witch.

I was hoping that the bottle next to her had contained vodka!

Then we visited Vegas a couple days ago.  I saw this vehicle with a life story pasted on the back window.  I liked it though I suppose it is a little off-color.

Well, pretty realistic anyway.  Take care!

Just a beautiful day....

 Daylight Savings Time ended this a.m. so everything is kind of weird BUT the sun is shining on the mountains and making them look so good!  That makes everything ok.  

Well, I sure wish the election was over and way beyond anything close.  I'm tired of being represented at the 'world level' by a pussy grabbing a**hole!  Where we live there are SO MANY Trump flags; I cannot understand how anyone can support such a fool.  But, I guess I don't understand a lot of things:  chemistry for example.  Anyway, I sure hope we get a new President.

I imagine I've said it before but I sure wish that we weren't choosing between two guys in their 70's.  I'm 72 and I think I'm slowing down.  I think the "Leader of the Free World" should be younger.  Not like really young but maybe in the 50's.  And I'd like them to have some experience in government at the national level; like Congress.  I believe that being in the government is different from being in the corporate world or anywhere else.  Knowing how to talk with the people you are working with; or who are working for you, is important.  Having someone from 'millionaire row' being President means that he or she doesn't have a clue about what really happens in the government (have you noticed that lately?).  It would be like me becoming the mayor of our town; I don't have a clue about how much the Roads department needs or the Police or the Parks.  

Someone sent me a PDF about how the Chinese are doing so much better than we in the US.  It talked about Chinese railroads, dams, bridges, roads, etc.  First of all, they do have a country that needs lots of upgrading and they can finally afford it however, it is certainly true that the infrastructure in the US needs upgrading.  Anyone who has driven I-70 in Colorado knows that!  Not to mention things like the dam in Michigan that washed away.  I'm sure there are plenty more that could use upgrading.  Then there is the whole sustainable energy problem.  Sticking our collective heads in the sand and saying global warming is a 'lie' won't work for us in the long term.  It's about as true as saying the coronavirus isn't anything to worry about.

My wife and I are planning our next trailer trip.  It's going to be a biggie - 3 or 4 nights in Las Vegas!  Yeah, well, we go to Vegas every week or ten days but we never take the time to see the sights.  There are actually some interesting places and we just never take the time to visit them; this time we will.  And it will give the dog some time in the trailer which he needs.  He won't learn about it if we don't take him.  Anyway, I should have a few Vegas photos next time.  

Gotta go.  This 1st day of November is zooming away.  Take care & keep washing those hands!